Prison for serial fraud who tricked the Home Office

A CONMAN from Rugby who lied his way into one the highest-ranking jobs at the Home Office has been jailed for pocketing thousands of pounds as part of a several fraud scams.

Andrew Waldron, 38, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years at Birmingham Crown Court on Friday. It is the third time he has been convicted of deception offences in nine years.

However despite Waldon’s convictions he managed to become head of an investigation unit at the UK Border Agency (UKBA) after lying about his qualifications and hiding his previous criminal activity.

He worked for the agency for four years, earning more than £500,000 until his arrest in August 2009.

The conman later pocketed thousands of pounds from property companies by claiming he could award them £480 million on contracts to house foreign diplomats.

On Wednesday last week he was due to stand trial for the fantasy con worth around £500 million but instead opted to plead guilty to six counts of fraud.

The offences he pleaded guilty to occurred between January and May 2010 after he had lost his job with the UKBA.

Whist on bail he carried out a series of fraudulent acts across the country. At one point he even changed his name to Andrew Chalmers.

Sentencing Waldron, Judge Robert Orme told him that there was a compulsive nature to his offending.

Speaking after the court case acting chief executive of the UK Border Agency, Jonathan Sedgwick, said: “I welcome the fact that Andrew Waldron is being held to account for his actions. “He has now been exposed as a serial fraudster, who routinely lied about his qualifications and work history to gain employment.

“Following his arrest in August 2009 we have taken steps to ensure that this lapse in our usually thorough vetting procedures cannot happen again.”

A spokesman for West Midlands Police added: “We are pleased with the sentence as this reflects the level of criminality and dishonesty that Waldron undertook.”